Fort Smith National Historic Site
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| Fort Smith National Historic Site | |
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| Location: | Arkansas & Oklahoma, USA |
| Nearest city: | Fort Smith, Arkansas |
| Coordinates: | |
| Area: | 75 acres (0.3 km²) |
| Established: | September 13, 1961 |
| Visitation: | 74,400 (in 2005) |
| Governing body: | National Park Service |
Fort Smith National Historic Site is a United States National Historic Site located in Fort Smith, Arkansas along the Arkansas River. The site was established in 1961 in order to protect the remains of two nineteenth-century U.S. military forts and the Federal Court for the Western District of Arkansas. Fort Smith was also notable as a major stop along the "Trail of Tears."
The park visitor center is now located in the old Barracks/Courthouse/Jail building. Exhibits in the visitor center focus on Fort Smith’s military history from 1817 – 1871, western expansion, Judge Isaac Parker and the federal court's impact on Indian Territory, U.S. Deputy Marshals and outlaws, Federal Indian policy, and Indian Removal including the Trail of Tears.
Located on the grounds are the foundation remains of the first Fort Smith (1817-1824), the commissary building (c. 1838) and a reconstruction of the gallows used by the federal court. A walking trail along the Arkansas River includes wayside exhibits on the Trail of Tears.
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